Abstract
Research on route-network stability is rare. In time, due to cultural and/or natural causes, settlement locations and route orientation shift. The nature of these spatial changes sheds light on the complex interaction between settlements and surrounding natural landscape conditions. This study investigates the stability of route networks in the Netherlands during the past two millennia by determining their persistence through time. Environmental, archaeological and historical data are used to reconstruct and compare route networks. By using network friction, archaeological data on settlement patterns and route networks in combination with historical data (e.g. old maps), we were able to model route-network persistence (not necessarily continuity) from the Roman to early medieval periods (AD 100–800) and from the Early Middle Ages to the Early Modern Times (AD 800–1600). Results show that around 67.6% of the modelled early-medieval routes in the Netherlands are persistent with routes in the Roman period. Covering a much larger surface area of the Netherlands, 24.5% of the early-modern routes show a clear persistence with their early-medieval counterparts. Besides the differences in surface area, this downfall can largely be explained by cultural dynamics, with 71.4% of the early-modern route network following modelled movement corridors already in existence during the Early Middle Ages.
Highlights
The landscape in the Netherlands is best characterized as a dynamic lowland region partially influenced by marine and fluvial (e.g. Rhine and Meuse) processes and extensive peatlands
Datasets developed by Horsten (2005) and Van Lanen et al (2015a, b) allow us to study the stability of route networks
On a supra-regional scale, we were able to calculate that 67.6% of the Early Middle Ages (EMA) routes sections are persistent with Roman counterparts
Summary
The landscape in the Netherlands is best characterized as a dynamic lowland region partially influenced by marine and fluvial (e.g. Rhine and Meuse) processes and extensive peatlands. In the Roman and medieval periods, large parts of the western and northern Netherlands were covered by extensive peat bogs. From the 10th to 12th centuries onwards, large-scale dike building, drainage and reclamation starting in the western Netherlands made many of these peat landscapes much more accessible (Borger 1992; Gerding 1995; De Bont 2008). In recent years it has become increasingly clear that late Iron Age and Roman settlers in various parts of the coastal Netherlands have had a far stronger impact on their environment than previously assumed (Lascaris and De Kraker 2013), the influence of these small-scale reclamation areas on large-
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
